The Lives We Chose
by BrutusXEnobaria
Summary: A collection of one-shots from the lives of Brutus and Enobaria. BrutusXEnobaria
1. Don't Give Up On Me

**DON'T GIVE UP ON ME**

"Faster! Faster!" Brutus ordered from Enobaria until she couldn't throw any more knives. She threw one last knife at the target until she stopped to try and catch her breath. "Did I say stop?"

"I'm sorry, I can do better," Enobaria insisted, still panting. "Let's just go again."

"No," Brutus said to her. "I don't want you to volunteer this year; you're only fifteen. Wait until you're seventeen and then volunteer for the games."

"Are you giving up on me?" Enobaria asked. "Brutus, the whole point of you secretly training me is so that I can volunteer this year."

"I don't find a point in why I'm doing this," Brutus said.

"Because you're the only one who knows I can do it!" Enobaria reminded him. "All the other trainers think I'm hopeless but that's why I'm here and you're training me! So that I can show them that I can win and that I'm not useless!"

"We shouldn't be doing this." Brutus began to walk away from her.

"Fine! Just give up on me then! I'm tired of wasting my time on people who don't believe in me!" Enobaria said. Brutus was the only type of support she had, and it hurt that he gave up on her, like everyone else.

Brutus turned around, walked up to her, and kissed her. Enobaria was taken aback at first, but she responded to his soft and gentle kiss. He could taste her warm, soft lips, and she could taste his rough, cold ones.

He pulled away, cupped her cheek, and looked her in the eyes. "If you die, then I'll never be able to forgive myself."

"Brutus, don't worry about me," Enobaria told him. "I won't die. I'll come back to you, okay?"

XXX

A month later, Enobaria came home to Brutus – like she promised – as District Two's newest victor.


	2. I Volunteer!

**"I VOLUNTEER!"**

"Enobaria!" the District Two escort calls out as she reads the small paper with her name written on it.

You feel as if you've been stabbed in the chest with your own spear. It is a terrifying site for you to see: the woman you love standing on the stage, being called to enter the Games once again. Her face is empty, emotionless.

She can win, you know she can. She's done it before.

_But what if she doesn't win? What if this time, she doesn't make it?_

If she dies in the Arena, you'll never be able to forgive yourself for letting her go in without any protection. You'll never be able to forgive yourself for just standing there and watching her through a hologram in the Capitol while she's fighting for her life.

You'll never be able to forgive yourself for not doing enough.

"I volunteer!" you cry out, without even thinking twice.


	3. Not Ordinary

**NOT ORDINARY**

Brutus and Enobaria weren't like most couples. They weren't very lovey dovey, they weren't cliché, and they weren't – let's say – like normal couples.

Of course they weren't like ordinary couples. They were victors, from District Two, and they were both very committed with training.

They'd wrestle and do hand-to-hand combat and they'd find that more romantic than – let's say – dinner and a movie.

Normally, when they came home from a long day of training, Brutus read the newspapers while Enobaria threw knives in their basement. She found the that _thuds_ from the knives hitting the wall were quite relaxing and entertaining.

When Brutus wasn't entirely exhausted, he'd join her and throw knives with her for an hour or so.

But one day, Brutus thought it would be nice to do something different.

He walked downstairs to see Enobaria throwing knives expertly, like always. "Hey, Baria. I had this thought…."

She pushed a strand of hair from her face. "What is it, babe?"

"Have you ever thought about doing something… Normal?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"Such as?" she asked, giving him a confused look.

"Well… Go out to dinner, go see a movie, go out for a walk," Brutus suggested. "Just a thought."

She considered his suggestion and then said, "Alright, we'll do that shit if you want to do that. But keep this in mind: we're not like ordinary couples. Got it?"

"Got it."


	4. Something to Come Back For

**SOMETHING TO COME BACK FOR**

Enobaria hadn't talked to Brutus since the Reapings for the Third Quarter Quell. He wasn't supposed to volunteer; they weren't supposed to go into the Arena together.

She was mad because now she knew that they couldn't come out together; there was only one winner. And the Capitol wasn't going to make that mistake again. The whole reason why they were in this mess was because of the stupid Star-Crossed Lovers from District Twelve.

She waited near the carriage designated for District Two, right before the Parade started. She wore a golden armor – which exposed most of her legs, stomach, arms, and chest. She had golden designs drawn all over her arms and her entire body was sprayed golden.

Her eyes were empty, cold. She looked at the other fellow victors as if she was above them. The only way she could survive in the Arena was by making the rest fear her.

Brutus walked up to her, wearing a similar outfit as her; she still wouldn't speak up to him. "What's your damn problem?"

"Nothing," Enobaria said.

"Then why won't you talk to me?" Brutus asked. "I don't understand why you're so mad at me."

"I'm mad because you volunteered," Enobaria replied, turning to face him.

"I volunteered because I need to protect you!" Brutus said.

Enobaria noticed that the rest of the victors were starting to stare at them. "I don't need protection, you damn right know that!"

"I'm sorry I volunteered for protecting you because I love you!" Brutus snapped at her. "What don't you understand about that?"

"No, Brutus. _You're_ the one that doesn't understand," Enobaria told him. "If you hadn't volunteered, then I'd have someone to come back for…"

Then Brutus understood why she was so angry at him. He was the person she was going to fight for; he was her reason for coming back. Other than him, she had no one else she cared about.

"I'm sorry," Brutus apologized, grabbing her hand and bringing her closer while he was leaning on the carriage. They didn't care if they looked weak or helpless at the moment in front of the rest of the tributes. "I'm so sorry; I should have known."

"There's nothing we can do now," she mumbled into his chest.

_Don't worry_, Brutus thought. _I'll do everything I can so that you can go home safely._


	5. Dirty

**DIRTY**

Brutus woke up one morning to see Enobaria with her back to him, only wearing her undergarments. She smelled strongly of alcohol and she slept curled up into a ball, feeling small. She came back from her first visit to the Capitol since she won her games.

He went to hug her and he realized that she was _crying_. Enobaria almost never cried – at least not in front of everyone. With every sob, her body shook.

"What's wrong, Baria?" Brutus asked as he pulled the sheets up around her.

She began to sob even more. "I – they… They m-made m-me…"

The first time she visited the Capitol was the first time she had been sold to the highest, richest bidder who wanted to have a piece of her first before anyone else got a piece of her.

"You were sold," Brutus realized. He didn't know how to comfort her – he'd never been famous or popular enough to have been sold to the Capitol. He wanted to hug her, but she wouldn't let him.

"Please don't touch me," she asked in a low tone. She looked so fragile, so innocent. And she hated looking like that in front of him.

Brutus pulled away – he knew she wouldn't want to be touched for a long time. He simply pulled up the sheets even more, laid back on his side, and watched her as her body shook from the sobbing.

A few minutes later, her sobs stopped and she fell asleep.

Brutus wanted to help her so badly. He wanted to hug her and never let go. He wanted to hold her tightly so that she'd never feel unsafe again. He wanted to make her stop feeling so… _Dirty_.

But then again, he wouldn't know what it feels like to be _dirty_ in the first place.


	6. Nightmares

**NIGHTMARES**

Enobaria had nightmares every time she fell asleep. She knew she tossed and turned, she knew she screamed. Luckily, no one heard her when she was alone at her house. But when she had to share an apartment with Brutus at the Capitol when they mentored, she knew he'd hear her.

The only way to solve the problem: not sleep when anyone was around.

One day, when she assumed that Brutus was off working with the Sponsors while the tributes were training, she crawled into bed, hoping she'd get at least a decent amount of sleep before anyone came back to the apartment.

In a matter of hours, she was screaming while her mind was in a nightmare.

She felt strong arms bring her in for a protective hug and hold her close. She didn't dare look at the person, just held on tighter and sobbed into him.

"Shh, it's okay," he cooed. "You're okay."

She recognized his voice – Brutus. She looked up at him, still a little shaken up. She didn't say anything, neither did he. He just held her tighter and closer until she calmed down.

"I want to die," she whispered.

He put his hand under her chin and made her look at him in the eye. "Don't ever say that. I love you too much to ever lose you."

Then he kissed her on the lips. And for the first time, Enobaria let her guard down.


	7. All Comes Back

**ALL COMES BACK**

Brutus walked into Enobaria's house to see her lying on the couch, a bottle in her hands and many pill bottles on the coffee table.

He quickly stomped up to her and squatted down to be at her level. "Baria, what did you do?"

She peeked at him from behind the bottle of liquor in her hands and giggled. "Nothing…" she slurred.

"Damn it." He took the bottle from her hands and kept it far away from her reach. "We talked about this before. No more pills, no more liquor, and no more drugs. This needs to stop."

"I know," she slurred, still drunk. "…But I don't want to stop." She rolled on her side and was caught by Brutus's strong arms. "I just don't…"

"And why not?" Brutus asked her.

"Because it comes back…" she whispered, beginning to fall asleep.

Brutus stood up, Enobaria still in his arms. "We'll talk about this when you're sober, again." He carried her upstairs to her room and gently laid her down on her bed.

"It all comes back when I'm sober…" she mumbled, bringing the sheets around her. "All of it..."

Brutus couldn't help but frown once he heard her say that. Her victory had been pretty hard on her, it got even harder when she came back home and was considered the bloodthirsty, vicious, killer from District Two.

He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Get some sleep now. Tomorrow, I'll help you deal with all of this a different way, okay?" 


	8. Drunk

**DRUNK**

"Brutus?" Enobaria asked. She was sitting down on the couch in the living room of their temporary Capitol apartment – Brutus and Enobaria would only spend their time at the Capitol if it were extremely necessary –, a bottle of liquor in her hand while Brutus sat on an armchair, almost asleep. He had way too much to drink, just like always.

"Yeah…" he slurred, starting to close his eyes.

"Why weren't you ever sold?" she asked, a little curious. "I mean, you haven't been sold once and I, well, I've had more than my share of Capitol appointments," she trailed off, not wanting to state the obvious.

"Well, because…" He was finally awake and sat up on his seat from his slouching position. "Because I never gave them what they wanted. They wanted a show; I didn't give them much of a show."

"And I did?" Enobaria asked.

"Well, yeah," he replied, starting to doze off again. "You won with your teeth. You have no idea how excited people were when they saw you win."

"It wasn't exactly exciting," she mumbled, setting down the bottle on the glass coffee table.

"Yeah, it was," Brutus slurred. "You gave them a good show…" He closed his eyes and gave out a loud yawn.

Enobaria groaned. "You're impossible to talk to!" She jumped out of the couch and began to stomp away from the drunken Brutus sleeping on another couch.

"Hey, wait!" Brutus ran after her, stumbling a bit from the alcohol. "I'm not impossible to talk to. I'm here for you, I've always told you that." He grabbed her arm, trying to comfort her, but she pulled away.

"How can you be here for me if you're always drunk?!" Enobaria asked, looking at him cold in the eyes. "You know, you're exactly like my father!" She turned on her heels and walked out of the room.

Brutus ran his hand through his head and collapsed onto the sofa. He should have been there for her, but he let his drinking get out of control. He officially messed up. Brutus knew that she put up with his drinking for a long time, but he was certain that she wasn't going to be doing that anymore.

He let her down, just like her father did to her when she was just five years old. Brutus promised her he'd never leave her the day he found her crying in the girl's bathroom of the Academy, just six years old.

Brutus grabbed the bottle, threw it at a wall. It smashed into pieces and alcohol spilled everywhere. Then he let the tears fall.


End file.
